worried-no thermostat

[e30-320i]

in the hunt for better fuel consumtion i changed my thermostat today (as my temp guage never got out of the blue) but when i removed the housing there was no thermostat fitted i'm now worried as to why the previous owner removed it (overheating problems?) i bled the system then let it heat up on the spot it took about 10 mins to get half way and then stayed there-problem solved i thought.still had 15 mins lunch break left so i went for a quick blast up the road and the needle rose to the three quarter mark it seemed to stay there but was only driving for about 5 mins so not sure (havn't had a chance to go for a proper drive yet).i bought the 'stat from GSandF the instructions are in brazilian and i can't see a temp rating i'll take it for a drive in a bit and see what happens but just wondered if anyone had any thoughts as to why someone may have removed the 'stat

[e30-320i]

just been for a drive the guage stayed just above halfway round town but as soon as i hit the motorway is went up to 3/4 again came back into town and it slowly came back down i thought the engine would have been cooler on the motorway

[Grantley]

Might be worth having a look at the viscous fan coupling or the water pump might be giving up the ghost

[orangecurry]

stats are usually removed when they stop working....

this doesn't really tell us much except that the previous owner was a slacker... which might mean all kinds of things.

IMHO for cheap parts (like a 'stat), ALWAYS buy the O/E, from BMW or www.motormec.co.uk - seems silly not to - the difference can only a be few Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£s

have you flushed the system and put in lovely new coolant? (Ethylene glycol is my favorite, not the rubbish from Halfords; but check with BMW; I always let BMW do the coolant change - it's not that expensive)

if you've done it, be careful there's no air trapped - it's quite common I understand

[fuzzy]

mine doesnt have a thermostat either,mechanic deliberately left it out after engine conversion,cant remember why but im sure the only downside is that it takes longer to warm up on cold mornings

[e30-320i]

mine hardly ever got out of the blue even on a 50 mile drive which meant it was permanently over fueling i've been getting 180 miles out of a full tank i'm hoping it will be a bit better now it definatly seems to be running better

[Tommy316i]

how do you bleed the system? i suspect an air lock in my 316i

[e30-320i]

park with the front facing slightly uphill put heater blowers on full fill with coolant run engine with bleed valve loosened (8mm bolt on top of thermostat housing) the coolant should start bubbling out then when its flowing out with no bubbles tighten it up and top up coolant if needed. i think thats everything but to be honest it was the first time i'd done it so you may wanna wait until someone else confirms incase ive missed something.

[oze30]

to bleed.. if your like my car and rounded trhe nut.. park with the left front higher than the rest of the car, squeeze the hoses a few times and fill the tank up to full.. (There's a little overflow outlet in the tank.. when you squeeze, this blows bubbles, then draws back air.. so keep it topped up.) Had no probs with this.

Did you put the thermostat in the right way?? ie: o ring where it's sposed to be, pointy bit facing the right way?